In constitutional states, liberty is compensation for heavy taxes; in dictatorships, the subsititue is light taxes.
BARON DE MONTESQUIEUIf I knew of something that could serve my nation but would ruin another, I would not propose it to my prince, for I am first a man and only then a Frenchman… because I am necessarily a man, and only accidentally am I French.
More Baron de Montesquieu Quotes
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The harshest tyranny is that which acts under the protection of legality and the banner of justice.
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What unhappy beings men are! They constantly waver between false hopes and silly fears, and instead of relying on reason they create monsters to frighten themselves with, and phantoms which lead them astray.
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Laws undertake to punish only overt acts.
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Men in excess of happiness or misery are equally inclined to severity. Witness conquerors and monks! It is mediocrity alone, and a mixture of prosperous and adverse fortune that inspire us with lenity and pity.
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I suffer from the disease of writing books and being ashamed of them when they are finished.
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There are countries where a man is worth nothing; there are others where he is worth less than nothing.
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Republics come to an end by luxurious habits; monarchies by poverty.
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Luxury ruins republics; poverty, monarchies.
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Love of the republic in a democracy, is a love of the democracy; love of the democracy is that of equality. Love of the democracy is likewise that of frugality.
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A nation may lose its liberties in a day and not miss them in a century.
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Countries are not cultivated in proportion to their fertility, but to their liberty.
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Liberty is the right of doing whatever the laws permit.
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We ought to be very cautious and circumspect in the prosecution of magic and heresy. The attempt to put down these two crimes may be extremely perilous to liberty.
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Those who have few affairs to attend to are great speakers. The less men think, the more they talk.
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Slowness is frequently the cause of much greater slowness.
BARON DE MONTESQUIEU